1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, generally, to a speaker assembly for a motor vehicle and, more specifically, to such a speaker assembly that is articulately supported relative to the interior of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, audio emanating from a sound system of the vehicle is directed typically from an interior panel into the passenger compartment and toward the general vicinity of the occupants of the vehicle. However, there are instances when it is desirable to direct the audio out of the passenger compartment and toward the exterior of the vehicle. This may be the case, for example, when the vehicle is associated with an entertainment event, such as a tailgating party, camping, while at the beach, and numerous other such events. In each of these cases, it may be desirable that the audio from a particular vehicle having an opened rear hatch or raised lift-gate, such as that of a sport-utility vehicle (SUV), be projected into the space exterior the vehicle toward bystanders positioned there. This allows the bystanders to hear the audio with much greater clarity and volume than would be possible using the typical vehicle sound-system arrangement. In addition, the quality of such audio would be increased even more with respect to the bystanders if the audio could be directed toward the bystanders no matter where they were located relative to the general vicinity of the rear of the vehicle.
However, a loudspeaker of a typical vehicle sound system is usually firmly fixed within the passenger compartment and positioned to emanate sound from the speaker into the passenger compartment only in a general direction. More specifically, the speaker is immovably mounted, for instance, in the door panel, the front- or rear-window ledge, or the sidewall trim of the passenger compartment. Also, the speaker is conventionally mounted flush with the surface of the respective door panel, window ledge, or sidewall trim. The sound emanates substantially in only a single, linear direction outward from the door panel or sidewall trim or upward from the window ledge. Since the position of the audience is often not in the path of the sound, the sound is of sub-optimal quality with respect to those located outside the vehicle.
This conventional arrangement for the speaker allows for more space in the passenger compartment for placement of other interior components and minimizes or eliminates view of the speaker by the driver and/or any other occupants of the vehicle. Unfortunately, however, this arrangement also results in less than optimal quality of the sound emanating from the speaker with respect to tailgaters, for instance, tailgating in a general area behind the vehicle who want to listen to, say, a pre-game show on the radio.
To better direct output of a vehicle speaker toward the occupant(s) of the vehicle, vehicle speaker systems have been mounted on top of the rear-window ledge such that they face forward toward the back of the occupant(s). A particular system of this type generally includes a speaker unit and a body for receiving the speaker unit. The speaker unit is adapted to move up and down with respect to the body, and the slant angle of the speaker unit is adapted to be changed elevationally. A driving source selectively drives the speaker unit. Thus, sound emitted from the speaker unit does not collide with a rear seat, in general, or a backrest or headrest of the rear seat, in particular, of a passenger compartment when the speaker system is mounted on the rear-window ledge.
Although suitable for its intended purpose, this speaker system suffers from several disadvantages. For instance, control over positioning of the speaker is limited. More specifically, orientation of the speaker unit is limited to elevational changes. Also, the speaker unit is highly conspicuous, which is undesirable for many vehicle-interior designs. Further, the speaker unit interferes with the driver's and/or any other occupant's view through the rear window(s).
To overcome these deficiencies, other vehicle speaker assemblies have permitted orientation of a speaker in accordance with an occupant's listening preferences and minimized the presence of the speaker when it is not in use. A typical assembly of this kind selectively rotates a ledge speaker from a retracted position under the ledge to an extended position above the ledge where the speaker is directed generally toward the vehicle occupants. There, the speaker can be rotated sideway to the right and/or left to direct sound to the ears of an occupant.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,760 issued to John D. Gray on Jun. 14, 1994 discloses a retractable speaker assembly for an automobile that includes a housing in which is mounted a loudspeaker. The housing is mounted on a platform that is attached by trunnions to corresponding mounts. The mounts are secured to a window ledge of an automobile extending between a rear seat and a rear window of the automobile. The housing is capable of rotation about an axis extending through the center of the respective trunnions. Operation of a first actuator in the clockwise direction causes the platform and, thus, the housing to rotate upward about the axis from a retracted position to an extended position. Operation of the first actuator in the opposite direction causes the housing to rotate downward about the axis toward the retracted position. Sideway rotation of the housing is achieved by a second actuator mounted on the topside of the platform. The actuators are remotely controlled by the driver or another occupant of the automobile.
More specifically, the housing is coupled to a frame via the actuator mounted on the underside of the platform. The actuator has a spur gear mounted on a drive shaft of the actuator. The spur gear mates with teeth of a set of teeth formed on the frame. The set of teeth form an arc centered on the axis. Three of the four corners of the platform are supported by the trunnions and the spur gear. The fourth corner can be supported on a second frame member by a second spur gear that is mounted to the platform to freely rotate via teeth formed on the second frame member as the platform is extended or retracted using the actuator.
The housing is pivotally mounted to the platform via a shaft to enable the sideway (i.e., left/right) rotation of the housing, which is achieved by the second actuator. The second actuator has a plunger that is attached to a pivot pin, which is secured to the bottom of the housing. The plunger has at least three positions corresponding to left-facing, front-facing, and right-facing positions.
While the speaker assembly of the '760 patent overcomes some of the disadvantages of the related art, several shortcomings still remain. Most notably, the range of motion and the ability to adjust the primary direction of the audio output is limited. In particular, this speaker assembly is not adapted to direct audio out of the vehicle interior and toward the exterior of the vehicle such that the audio is projected into the space exterior the vehicle toward bystanders positioned there. Also, this speaker assembly is relatively structurally complex in design and, thus, relatively expensive to construct.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the related art for a speaker assembly that is adapted to direct audio over a wide predetermined range, including out of the vehicle interior and toward the exterior of the vehicle such that the audio is projected into the space exterior the vehicle toward bystanders positioned there. Furthermore, there is a need in the related art for a speaker assembly that is relatively structurally simple in design and, thus, relatively less expensive to construct.